Vital Trek of Life

ASICS, definitely one of the leading brands in the running shoe industry right now, is an acronym for the Latin phrase “anima sana in corpore sano”, translating to “a sound mind in a sound body“. I think a lot of new ASICS shoes and shoe technology really embody this, and the Novablast series in particular comes off as a very comfortably responsive shoe. With that being said, here are the specs for the shoe, and we will dive right in to the review!

FF Blast plus ECO foam midsole

Novablast 5:

Heel Hight: 41.5 mm

Forefoot Hight: 33.5 mm

Heel Drop/Offset = 8 mm

• Utilizes new FF Blast Max Cushioning, with a heavy focus on the bouncing as of the shoe.
• Weight on website lists at 255g, lighter than the Novablast 4’s listed 260g.
• Significant change to the upper, going from a woven mesh to a Jacquard mesh.

If you’re new to the Novablast, I think it has some really unique features that should be addressed. One of ASICS’ main goals with this shoe is to provide a very lightweight, responsive, and most importantly, bouncy feel underfoot without utilizing its most critical (super shoe) foam.

Something that is pretty cool about the shoe is that the outsole is trampoline-inspired. Just looking at the shoe, you can definitely see some resemblance, but I think trampoline is just a key word for this shoe.

Now that you know the shoe a little better, here’s what I think about it.

The fit seems to be pretty similar to the Novablast 4- slightly wider in the forefoot, but still pretty accommodating all around. It feels a little more structured than the previous model, contributing to an interesting feel for such a responsive shoe. It feels pretty spacious and breathable- I think some of that credit definitely goes to the small upper update.

The colorways are cool! There are some unique ones, and I think over time new colorways will help the shoe gain popularity.

When I laced it up and ran in it this morning, it felt a lot heavier than I anticipated. The shoe update is lighter, but I think with the upper being a little more stable, and the foam update, it just feels a little heavier.

Plush and bouncy! The shoe feels springy; but not in the way you’d expect it. When it comes to a lot of faster, more lightweight shoes, sometimes the responsiveness can be an extent of aggressiveness. I think the shoe does a great job at helping runners move quick, but in a more relaxed and comfortable way. I found myself able to sustain slightly quicker than normal paces at more smooth and comfortable efforts than other shoes.

With that being said, I don’t think the shoe would be your best pick for fast fast stuff. I think it fits well into a tempo, recovery, or even long run shoe, but I worry the new FF Blast Max Cushioning foam might be too bouncy for the same speed work the Novablast used to enable. That being said, ASICS goal with this shoe was to make something trampoline like, and I think that’s important to remember.

At the end of the day, I think it’s a cool update that does both good and bad for ASICS and Novablast fans. I think for most runners looking for a versatile, everyday shoe, the Novablast 5 can check off a lot of boxes, while looking pretty sweet and returning energy well.